This application is a continuation-in-part of Application Ser. No. 09/109,577 filed Jul. 2, 1998 (now abandoned).
The present invention relates to a protector for bicycles which is adapted to provide protection to the bicycle from damage in storage or transit.
Major advances in bicycle design and construction have been made in recent years in the light of the availability of new materials and technologies and spurred on by the burgeoning market for all-terrain bikes and the desire for ever lighter, faster and more robust models.
The popularity of mountain and cross-country biking has led to a great increase of bicycles in transit via public transport, and especially transported by air, to enable the cyclists to enjoy exploration of rugged terrain further afield. In view of the very substantial cost of many specialist bicycles and the high volume of traffic of transported bicycles there is an ever increasing demand for effective bicycle protection in transit.
Where suitable bicycle protectors are available, these generally comprise padded bags sized only to accommodate the frame of a bicycle or to also accommodate the wheels but only once the wheels have been demounted. Such protectors are inconvenient for a number of reasons, not least the fact that the padded bag occupies a very substantial volume when not required for use and is, therefore, a major handicap to the light traveller/cycle tourist.
Covers specifically suited for use with bicycles are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,724 and European patent application number EP 0614827 A. Neither of these provides effective protection to the bicycle in transit.
Covers for motorbikes are described in various earlier patent application publications, including GB 693 392, GB 251,062, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,562,139 and 4,283,084. Amongst these motorbike covers, however, only GB 251,062 has any form of padding and this is localised to cover the oil tank and seat of the leather motorbike cover. Accordingly, to the best of the applicant""s knowledge, there is no prior design of protective cover for bicycles to provide efficient, effective and economical protection to the bicycle in transit.
According to the present invention there is provided a bicycle protector which comprises a cushioning cover that folds, in use, along a substantially centralised longitudinal or transverse axis to thereby drape over a wheeled bicycle to cover at least the bicycle frame from the right and left hand sides to a substantially equal extent and having fastening means, to secure the cover in place by attachment to or around the bicycle or a part thereof, the cover being filled in use throughout its extent with a cushioning material to protect the bicycle frame from damage in storage or transit, wherein the protector functions also as a camping mattress or accommodates, in at least one openable and closeable compartment at least one camping mattress or sleeping bag or other filing acting as cushioning material in use.
Where the cover has a single compartment the compartment may include the whole internal volume of the cover, there being no partitions.
The fastening means may comprise one or more slots or slits in the cover to fit over the seat post and/or handlebar stem or one or more straps and/or clips to fasten together around the bicycle or part thereof. If slots or salts are provided in the cover to fit over the seat post and/or handle bar stem then these will be positioned in the cover at suitable locations to fit over the seat post and or handle bar stem respectively. This embodiment of the invention is, however, unsuitable for use where the protective cover is adapted to accommodate one or a pair of sleeping bags or one or a pair of camping mattresses, unless the user is happy to make a corresponding slot or slit in their camping mattress.
The cover is preferably elongate and adapted to be fastened to or about the bicycle while draped with its longitudinal axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the bicycle. This particularly suits dual functionality of the cover.
The protector particularly preferably has dual functionalityxe2x80x94It functions also as a camping mattress or accommodates, in one, two or more compartments one or more (normally one or two) camping mattresses or sleeping bags acting as the cushioning material, in use.
Surprisingly and very usefully, a pair of one man sized camping mattresses extended and held side by side in a protector cover of the present invention provide an almost ideal spread to cover and protect the vulnerable frame parts of a bicycle when draped transversely to the bicycles longitudinal axis. Particularly desirable is the use of an inflating and more preferably resiliently self-inflating type of foam filled mattress.
The protector is far more compact when rolled up than the conventional cushioned bag and may readily, for example, be tied to the luggage carrier of the bicycle when not draped over the bicycle.
In one embodiment of the invention, the cover is fastened to the bicycle by straps at each end thereof that pass through the wheels of the bicycle. These may advantageously be tautened by the turning of the wheels. Alternatively and desirably the fastening straps at each end may be fastened to the respective wheel hubs and/or the frame to enable the bicycle to be free-wheeled into the cargo hold of an aircraft or other transporter. However, in this arrangement it is not so easy to align the cover properly.
The cover is suitably formed with at least its inner web that faces the bicycle, in use, of a relatively tear-resistant material that is relatively impervious to the oil on the bicycle""s gear train. Such material may, for example, comprise rip-stop nylon.
Suitably the carrier is further adapted to incorporate a shoulder strap for carrying of the bicycle. Such a strap may suitably be fastened at one end to the handlebar stem and at the other end to the seat post.